Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

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A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

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We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

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Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

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Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

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We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

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If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

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St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

St. Louis Press Pass

by
Gary Broome
| Nov 20, 2015

Regional Chamber joins with Minority Business Council

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/20/15)

The St. Louis Minority Business Council is merging with the St. Louis Regional Chamber, which will provide services for the smaller organization, the groups announced Friday. The council, which promotes the growth of minority-owned businesses, will still maintain a separate identity. It also gets a new board, which will include two top Regional Chamber officials.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Chamber study says stadium good for STL economy

(KSDK, 11/16/15)

Another twist in the showdown over a new NFL stadium in St. Louis. The St. Louis Regional Chamber is out with a study that says the stadium would be an economic boost to the city and would generate more than 7,000 jobs. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Chamber study calls new stadium 'critical,' adds 7,500 jobs

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/13/15)

Events held at a new riverfront football stadium would have a $200 million annual impact on the region and a $177 million yearly impact on the state, according to a study commissioned by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and released Friday.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Square’s gone public. Now the hard part begins.

(The Washington Post, 11/19/15)

Square has officially gone public, and now the payments-processing company needs to put its money where its mouth is. With its market debut, chief executive Jack Dorsey had a lot to celebrate Thursday. His mother Marcia rang the bell for the market’s open — even though the IPO happens to fall on his 39th birthday. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Jack Dorsey (left), co-founder and CEO of Twitter, and of mobile payments company Square, waits for Square
stock to open on it first day of public trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Nov. 19, 2015. (Andrew Gombert/EPA)

These 16 companies were winners at Startup Connection

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/19/15)

More than 1,000 people attended Wednesday’s Startup Connection at Washington University. The event showcases some of the best and up-and-coming startup companies St. Louis has to offer. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Five companies win Accelerate St. Louis prize

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/18/15)

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership on Wednesday named the five young companies that will share $120,000 in prizes in this year's Accelerate St. Louis Challenge.. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Arch Grants bringing start-up businesses to St. Louis area

(KTVI, 11/16/15)

A rainy day for most, but a bright future for these entrepreneurs. 'Scopio is Getty images in real time,' says Christina Hawatmeh, Founder & CEO Scopio. 'We're the first solution to find and license images from social media in under ten minutes.'>> CLICK FOR MORE

The winners at Startup Weekend

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/16/15)

A company that hopes to sell ready-made, vacuum-sealed meals in local grocery stores was named the winner of Startup Weekend, the annual event that builds startup companies over a 54-hour period.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis software company Gainsight raises $50 million

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/12/15)

Gainsight, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that provides a system for customer intelligence analysis, has raised $50 million from a group of investors led by private equity and venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis area got a raise last year

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/19/15)

The St. Louis area got a raise last year, the government reported Thursday. Per capita personal income rose 3.3 percent to $47,391 in 2014, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That puts the area slightly ahead of the national per-person average of $46,049, up 3.6 percent last year.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Regional Business Council distributes $100,000 in grants

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/17/15)

The St. Louis Regional Business Council announced it would distribute $100,000 in grants to 24 organizations for 2015 from the It’s Our Region Fund. The It’s Our Region Fund supports capital improvement projects at nonprofits and community agencies by making one-time grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.>> CLICK FOR MORE

United Way makes history

(The St. Louis American, 11/19/15)

United Way of Greater St. Louis announced on November 12 that people in the St. Louis region rallied to raise the most ever in the agency’s history – $74,352,108 – to help local residents through its community campaign..>> CLICK FOR MORE

New effort urges St. Louis business community to champion investment in early childhood

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/16/15)

More than half of the region’s child care centers are subpar, and the ones that are high quality are often too expensive for parents who need them the most. On Tuesday, PNC Bank will begin a campaign with the St. Louis Regional Early Childhood Council to draw awareness to the state of child care in St. Louis. Michael Scully, St. Louis regional president of PNC, hopes business leaders will take a greater interest.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Teacher Janet Koch holds Jaelle Ball, 9-months-old, in the infant room of SouthSide Early Childhood Center, on
Friday, May 23, 2014, in St. Louis. Koch is one of two teachers in the room of the state-licensed and accredited center.
Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com

Report: St. Louis banks improving outreach to underserved communities

(St. Louis Public Radio, 11/17/15)

St. Louis area banks are becoming more accessible to low-income and minority neighborhoods. That’s according to a new report released by the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Monsanto Could Take Lead Role in Agchem Acquisitions: Executives

(Reuters, 11/17/15)

Monsanto Co. executives are discussing whether they should acquire rivals, including top pesticide maker Syngenta AG, company executives said on Tuesday, as talk of consolidation continues in the global agrochemical industry. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Arnold Defense wins $19 million rocket launcher contract

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/17/15)

Arnold Defense has been awarded a $19 million contract to supply several hundred rocket launchers and other equipment to the U.S. Navy. Arnold Defense manufactures rocket launchers for the military and has just under 50 employees at its Arnold, Missouri, headquarters.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Jet Aviation Basel, St. Louis, Perform Avionics Firsts

(AIN online, 11/17/15)

Jet Aviation Basel has signed an agreement to perform the first installation of a Ka-band satcom system on a Boeing 747-400, using Honeywell’s JetWave fuselage-mounted MCS-8200 antenna. The completions and aircraft engineering specialist will develop a Ka-Band supplemental type certificate (STC) for the 747-400 installation. Jet Aviation is located at NBAA Booth N5131. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Wind Power Project Approval

(WBGZ Radio 11/14/2015)

All aboard the Grain Belt Express? The Illinois Commerce Commission Thursday approved a "certificate of convenience and necessity," which the company overseeing the overhead wind power transmission proposal says is the final regulatory approval in Illinois. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Chameleon wins $9.5 million defense contract at Scott Air Force Base

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/18/15)

Chameleon Integrated Services, a St. Louis-based IT services firm that in October won a $54 million bid to do work for the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), has added another IT consulting services contract worth $9.5 million to the mix.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Clair County offers 200 more acres by proposed Scott AFB site, legislators support plan

(The Alton Telegraph, 11/16/15)

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined with St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern Monday to announce that the county is prepared to offer an additional 200 acres to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency for future expansion.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Rallying businesses to develop the Metro East

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/20/15)

The Metro East has more than 500,000 people, heavy industry, a river port, rail and highway connections that make it a hub for making and shipping things. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy and Senior Services Plus have jointly received a grant for a two-year project that is in search of improving the safety and effectiveness of medication use during care transitions from hospital to home for older adults treated for venous thromboembolism.>> CLICK FOR MORE

City of St. Louis savings program helping ease college expense burden

(KMOV, 11/18/15)

A new program in the City of St. Louis is aiming to ease a little bit of the college expense burden for families.>> CLICK FOR MORE

EDITORIAL: Renovated Gateway Arch will benefit St. Louis, Missouri

(The Kansas City Star, 11/17/15)

With recent renovations, the 630-foot Gateway Arch dominating the St. Louis skyline will look the same, and the trams that take visitors to the top will run just as they always have. But nearly everything else about the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial will change. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Blues commit $2 million to youth hockey

(St. Louis Business Journal, 11/19/15)

The St. Louis Blues on Thursday announced a new campaign to grow youth hockey by committing $2 million to various local programs by the year 2020. The goal is to grow the number of kids playing hockey by 70 percent in that time by making it cheaper to play the sport — according to Kids Play USA Foundation, youth ice hockey can cost as much as $10,000 per year per child when taking into account equipment, facility costs, enrollment fees, and coaches. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Korte Company enters strategic partnership agreement with OSHA

(Illinois Business Journal, 11/15

The Korte Company has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with OSHA region 10 Bellevue (Wash.) Area Office and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries On-site Consultation Program, on three projects underway at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Wash.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Starbucks embarks on national diversity initiative in Ferguson, partners with local bakery Natalie’s Cakes and More

(The St. Louis American, 11/20/15)

Community leaders, entrepreneurs, residents and corporate employees gathered Thursday, November 19 for the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Starbucks in Ferguson.>> CLICK FOR MORE